The Only Way
by Nyama
Summary: The Golden trio must figure out what Malfoy is up to before its too late. But as the Slytherin is becoming more and more secretive, they must resort to drastic measures, and fling Hermione far out of her comfort zone and into the arms of the blond ferret.
1. The Only Way

Disclaimer: Everything besides the plot belongs to JK Rowling

A/N: This story is dedicated to my friend Cammie, for teaching me that I have no self-restraint.

Chapter 1: The Only Way

"There he is."

"What? Where? I can't see a thing…. Move over, Hermione!" Ron exclaimed, pushing her away from the cupboard door in order to get a better view of what was going on in the dark room outside.

Looking through to the charms classroom, Ron and Hermione could see the outlines of two men, one of them with the characteristic blonde hair of Draco Malfoy. The other, a darker figure, was standing with his back to Malfoy. Hermione immediately identified his voice as he started to speak.

"Did anyone follow you?" Snape asked with his unmistakable drawl.

"I didn't see anyone…" replied Malfoy, not sounding too sure of himself.

Snape spun around and barked at Malfoy. "Were you hoping to end up sharing a cell with your father in Azkaban, because that can be arranged!"

Composing himself, Snape lowered his voice and whispered with venom in every word, "Now I'll ask you once more, are you sure no one followed you?"

"Yes…yes, I'm sure." Malfoy replied.

Ron struggled to keep quiet, snorting at Malfoy's reply. Hermione had a hard time suppressing a chuckle as well, as both of them knew that Harry had been following Malfoy all the way from the dungeons under his cloak to make sure he was indeed headed for the charms classroom as they had thought.

For the past two months Malfoy had been meeting up regularly with Snape inside the walls of Hogwarts, somehow without the latter being detected by anyone. He didn't even show up on the Marauder's Map. So when Harry first followed Malfoy to one of these meetings he had been shocked to be met with the weary face of his former potions professor. Although they tended to move the location of their meetings regularly, they often stayed in one place for a few weeks in a row. This is how Hermione and Ron were finally able to come with Harry to spy on the two men. Harry had insisted to keep them out of it until Malfoy and Snape moved to a room where there was a broom cupboard close to the exit so Ron and Hermione could easily run out if they were found.

Following Dumbledore's murder, the remaining members of the Order of the Phoenix had made sure to monitor all of Draco Malfoy's post and kept a close eye on him and whoever he interacted with. For this reason only had he been allowed to stay at Hogwarts, even after his obvious involvement with You-Know-Who. Malfoy himself presumably believed it was due to his power and generous donations that he hadn't been expelled. The Order felt little need in correcting him in said belief as they gained invaluable information.

"The Dark Lord is growing restless. He wishes to hear news of progress. I hope you have something more to say than last time. You may be my godson, but even I cannot save you from his wrath, Draco."

"I'm almost done with the dungeons and kitchen. But it will take a while to finish…." Seeing the glare from his former professor, Malfoy hastily continued. "The castle and grounds are much larger than I thought, and that stupid mudblood and her prefects are everywhere."

This last comment resulted in Malfoy receiving a glare from each of the three hidden guests in the room.

"Very well….I will inform our Lord. Remember, if you do not finish by Easter he will be very angry. You will have to work quicker to make the deadline. If you wish to live to see your seventeenth birthday, do not disappoint him."

Hermione could see Malfoy's expression of rage and determination, and was not surprised. She herself knew the benefits of turning fear into anger. Hermione, along with her two best friends, had after all been in numerous situations where leaning on fear would have meant their deaths. It was a hard lesson to turn their fear into something useful, but a necessary one. One that she figured Malfoy wouldn't still be alive without. During the previous school year he had looked haggard, afraid and alone, culminating in his failure to kill his headmaster. This year, however, Hermione had noticed his arrogant posture return.

The former potions professor covered his head with the hood of his cloak, and walked towards the door. His hand hovered over the doorknob for a moment, before he turned back towards Malfoy. "Oh and remember, from here on in you are on your own. It is becoming too risky for me to be here. Besides, you should be able to continue this on your own." Then he walked out of the classroom. The young slytherin, whilst mumbling profanities, followed shortly afterwards.

With the two conspirators gone, Harry removed his invisibility cloak and immediately motioned for Ron and Hermione to come out of hiding.

"Blimey, Harry, what do you think Malfoy is up to this time?" Ron asked.

"I don't have a clue. Like I've told you, they're always careful to be vague in case someone is listening in. At least we have a deadline now –" Harry abruptly stopped talking and motioned for the others to keep quiet. Hermione looked towards the entrance to the classroom and heard what had stopped Harry mid-sentence. Someone was right outside in the hallway. Hermione could feel her heart pounding in her chest and kept completely still as she tried to make out who was out there. Just as the door was being thrown open with a loud bang, Harry rushed to his friends and managed to envelop all three gryffindors in his invisibility cloak. Trying to keep herself from breathing too loudly, Hermione's eyes focused on the now open door out to the hallway. Suddenly Peeves rushed through the wall next to the door and into the classroom, laughing maniacally and looking around, shouting "Students out of bed! Hiding from me? Where can they be? It's useless to fleeeeee!" Peeves continued his song while going back through the wall again to the hallway. Hermione could hear him further along now, opening up every door he came across trying to find them.

"Let's go back to the common room so Filch doesn't catch us. He's bound to come here with all this ruckus." Harry said, removing the cloak from over his friends and turning to leave. Ron and Hermione followed him out the door.

* * *

"I'm sorry Harry, I can't imagine how hard this must be for you, having to see Snape up close so many times and not be able to do anything." Hermione said, her hand comfortingly on Harry's shoulder while the portrait opened. The common room was empty this time of night, allowing the three some privacy to think through what had happened and how they would proceed.

"And now we have no idea if we will ever get the chance to pay him back for what he did to Dumbledore." Harry sighed, and Hermione could see his eyes fill with tears before he turned towards the fireplace. "But we have to keep going. The whole point of not touching those evil gits was to get information. We will have to figure out a new way to find out what Malfoy's up to. He's obviously being extremely careful, so we need to do something new…something drastic to make him slip up and spill his secrets."

Hermione dreaded this. She knew how difficult this would be, getting information on Malfoy without anyone noticing so that he wouldn't simply be switched out with another of the many willing and devoted aspiring death eaters. She had already been racking her brain to devise a new plan. She knew of the possibility of Snape and Malfoy ending their weekly meetings. She also knew how important this was to Harry. Naturally, it was important to her as well to end the war, but Harry had a much more personal stake in it. But despite hours upon hours of research in the library, she just hadn't been able to think of another way to spy on Malfoy that would produce results. He was just being so careful. He did nothing overly suspicious besides maybe taking a great interest in strolling around Hogwarts late at night, and his bedroom had been enclosed in so many wards and shields that no one besides him could enter or know at all what was going on behind closed doors. The only ones who would ever be let in there were the occasional girls, for reasons Hermione did not want to dwell on. Even they would be quickly escorted out only hours later.

"So what's the plan?" Ron said enthusiastically to Harry and Hermione, expecting one of them to come up with something brilliant.

Hermione sat down in a chair and her two friends followed suit.

"We're thinking Ronald, you could try that as well you know, just sit back, close your eyes and focus." Hermione replied sarcastically. Although Ron was clever when he tried, he just seemed to never even bother, which vexed Hermione greatly.

"Fine, I have a plan; let's slip the evil git a love potion so he'll fall in love with 'Mione, then he'll probably tell you everything, even the colour of You-Know-Who's socks." Ron looked triumphant, Hermione suddenly became very red. An image of what Malfoy did to those girls in the privacy of his room entered her mind. She quickly shoved the thought away and focused instead on her annoyance towards Ron. She opened her mouth to yell at him and tell him all the ways in which that was a terrible plan when Harry cut her off.

"That's….brilliant, Ron." He said, looking up at them both for the first time since entering the common room.

"WHAT?" They replied in unison.

After a moment's pause in which Harry seemed to deliberate the plan in his head and Ron and Hermione simply tried to recuperate from the shock of hearing Harry, or for that matter _anyone_, agree with Ron, the dark haired boy continued his train of thought out loud.

"It is! Think about it 'Mione, it's a bit rough around the edges, but it's a plan. Even evil gits tell their girlfriends all kinds of personal stuff. And Malfoy has been known to go after gryffindors before, so it's not that much of a stretch." Hermione thought she was going crazy. Or perhaps her friends were. In what universe would such a pureblood fanatic even consider dating a muggleborn like herself? Let alone Harry Potters friend.

"But Harry," Hermione said, obviously exasperated, "there are so many things wrong with that plan." She started, and made to stand. She always felt more in control while hovering over her friends. And control was just what she needed to hide the slight shaking in her voice as she realized she may just be forced to try this last resort. "First of all, he never dates muggleborns or gryffindors, he just uses them and discards them. And any idiot would notice that he'd been given a love potion, the effects are too obvious. Someone will suspect."

"Then don't give him a love potion."

"Oh, of course, I'll just win him over with my dazzling good looks, no problem there…" Hermione said.

"Oh come off it Hermione, you know he can't stand you… " Ron said, missing the obvious sarcasm in her tone. She sent him a glare deadly enough to kill. "Despite your dazzling good looks, that is." He quickly added to keep Hermione from slapping him.

Hermione didn't stop glaring at Ron until Harry finally spoke again.

"A love potion is too obvious but there are more…subtle ones. Remember back in fourth year when we brewed a potion to make you become more open minded towards a thing or a person?"

Hermione did indeed remember that potion, and silently realized how perfect it was for Ron's plan. Yet she refused to admit that their only hope was for her to try and get close to Draco Malfoy. Thus she felt had to find other flaws or, better yet, another plan NOT involving her getting intimate with the blond ferret-face. Just the idea made her breathe harder and feel hundreds of evil little butterflies flutter around in her stomach. She knew she was a decent actress, but acting amiably towards Draco Malfoy would be a challenge for anyone.

After a lengthy silence the trio decided it best to sleep on it and discuss it in the morning. As Hermione parted ways with the two boys to go up to the girl's dormitory she tried thinking of a way around her predicament and found no other solution to their problem. They had to get the information out of Malfoy as soon as possible, and without him discontinuing his mission.

Had they used veritaserum on him, or simply scared him into talking, they would have to remove his memory of the event, which Voldemort would most certainly pick up on when the young Malfoy showed up with no knowledge of what had happened the day before. Hermione's thoughts shifted over to polyjuice potions, but to successfully impersonate another person on such an intimate level and for every moment of every day for weeks or months was near impossible. And no one besides a beloved girlfriend could break his mental barriers enough to make him confess his plans, so a close friendship with Harry or Ron was out of the question. Although unwilling to even think it, Ron's plan would have to be put into action. It made Hermione wish she could crawl underneath her blankets and never get out of bed again. It made her so nervous she felt she thought she'd be sick. But it was the only way and Hermione knew it.


	2. Giggles

Chapter 2: Giggles

"Ronald Weasley! You shut that mouth of yours right now or I'll send an owl straight to your mother telling her what you just said!"

"But 'Mione, I just, I don't want you to have to share your first time with that bloody ferret." Ron replied hesitantly. Seeing how angry Hermione was could have scared Voldemort himself. She couldn't believe Ron was trying to get her into bed with him with such a ridiculous excuse. She knew Ron was trying to be nice and all, but the truth was that she would rather lose her virginity to Malfoy than to him. It wasn't that she found him repulsive or anything, she just considered them friends and that was that. If anything else happened she feared their friendship would suffer.

Rushing up to her dormitory only minutes after leaving it, Hermione felt she needed to put all her efforts into making her two best friends realize their whole plan was in fact a bad idea. Before Ron approached her with his offer, she hadn't even considered that she might have to sleep with the ferret, and she wasn't sure she would be able to go that far. A few days had passed since the first suggestion of the new plan, and Hermione was actually becoming more and more positive towards it. Now that she was brutally reminded of what she might have to do though, all her initial anxiety came flooding back. Skipping breakfast the brown-haired head girl made a list of all the faults in the plan instead, intending to show it to the boys at lunch. However, although the list may have been substantial, all the items on it were fixable, except for one. Hermione tried desperately to ignore this fact, but in the end, she put a check mark next to those she knew would not be a problem.

After doublechecking her list, Hermione's eyes wandered towards her window. Outside she could see the quidditch pitch in the distance, where Malfoy was currently practicing with his team for the upcoming match against Gryffindor. She couldn't help but admire him a little. He had been a wreck last year, but had bounced back from it so well it was almost like he was a different person. He managed to keep up his skill in quidditch while doing well in all his classes. Hermione gathered from what she heard of rumors that he was reasonably sociable still, particularly with girls. All while on god knows what type of secret mission from Voldemort. The only thing he had let up on was his taunting of her and her friends. Instead he mostly just ignored them, which Hermione was eternally grateful for in the beginning of the semester. Now however, it seemed this fact could be used as an argument for Ron's plan, instead of against. She sighed deeply and once again went over her list.

* * *

Draco Malfoy sat at a table in the library finishing up his homework before lunch. He always completed all his assignments in public areas. His godfather had taught him that in order to not be noticed one must be seen as often as possible. Hidden in plain sight. Draco had learnt a lot from Snape during their summer together. He had taught him how to keep up appearances and not seem suspicious. He had also become much more skilled at reading other people, and noticing details. It was for this reason that Draco knew Potter and his friends were watching even before Snape signaled to him that they were not alone.

Pretending to read his potions book, Draco considered the implications of Snape not returning. It mattered little to him in regards to his task. The only reason Snape came so often was to make sure his godson was doing ok. After the death of his mother and his father's imprisonment, he was naturally very worried about him. But Draco did not need anyone to worry about him anymore. When the Dark Lord had punished Draco by killing his mother, he had vowed to never surrender again, never be afraid, and do what he must to survive and get through this damn war. He had tried staying on the sidelines, but had realized that he was in the middle of this war whether he liked it or not. Draco caught himself before laughing out loud at the idea of how similar he and Harry Potter really were. Both thrown into a war without a choice, forced to fight or perish.

He wondered what Potter and his little friends would do now that they would gain nothing valuable from following him around anymore. Would they be stupid enough to simply confront him? Or smart enough to keep digging without raising too much suspicion? They must know he would be replaced quickly if Voldemort suspected his cover to be blown. If Potter didn't think of it then surely Granger would. He hoped for all their sakes that she did. He knew Snape would not betray him by telling Voldemort he was being followed. It would mean his death, and Snape's loyalties lay with his godson above all else.

Glancing up at the clock he saw it was time for lunch. He gathered his books in his bag and sauntered out of the library towards the great hall.

* * *

At lunch, Ron still seemed terrified of Hermione having another outburst, but the girl had no intention of being anything more or less than civil with them. Handing her list over to Harry, she started filling her plate with food.

"Even though it is not a love potion, someone will notice the change in Malfoy as he will suddenly be friendlier to me for no apparent reason." Ron read over Harry's shoulder before stuffing his mouth with food. Hermione scowled at Ron for talking so loudly, but noticed that they were in no danger of being overheard, as few gryffindors had made it to lunch. Last night they had won a long anticipated quidditch match against Ravenclaw. So when Seamus selfishly shared his entire stock of firewhiskey with his housemates, most of them had stayed up until dawn drinking and celebrating.

"I've actually thought about that," Harry replied, "and realized that all we need to make it look natural is an event that will make him temporarily more open minded to you and then just make him unnaturally continue."

"Like what exactly? I've saved his arse before and if possible it made him hate me even more." Hermione rebutted.

"I was thinking more of something along the lines of…" glancing nervously at Ron, Harry said this last part very fast "…lettinghimcatchthesnitch."

"What...did you just say?" Ron looked like two bludgers had just hit him in the head simultaneously.

"That's a great plan, Harry." Hermione smiled, finally sensing a way to make Ron as unhappy as she was. "He'll simply think he's being nice to me because he had a great day."

"Great day? Bloody hell, Hermione, he'll have a great year, pestering me and Harry about it!" Just as Hermione had hoped for, Ron was beginning to dislike this plan as well. If she had to go through with his stupid idea then he would have to suffer through it just like her.

"There's just one more thing, Harry." Hermione shifted nervously in her seat. "I, well….I'm not the worst actress, but it's Malfoy. How on earth do I make him think I fancy him? And, I mean, I'm going to have to kiss him and all, and I can't be close to barfing while doing it, can I?" Hermione glanced over at Malfoy and saw him laughing loudly at a young Hufflepuff who was crying. She scowled towards him, and he looked up just at that moment and smirked back at her. She suddenly realized she would have to flirt with that scumbag, and a look of disgust donned her features.

Harry, seeing their exchange, seemed lost in thought for a bit before answering. "I'm sure if anyone can do it, it's you Hermione. And in any case, Malfoy's not all that bad looking, is he?"

At this, Lavender and Parvati, who were sitting almost at the other end of the table, rushed over to join in on the conversation. The two girls looked extremely hungover, but somehow managed to overhear that last part.

"Not bad looking? Are you raving mad? He's gorgeous! Oh, if it weren't for the fact that I'm taken I would have eaten him up by now!" Lavender exclaimed, both girls giggling loudly.

About two minutes into their rant about Malfoy's good looks, he walked into the Great Hall and seated himself at the end of the Slytherin table. Thinking about how close she would have to get to him, Hermione found herself staring at the young death eater. His hair, although not coated with the same amount of gel he had used during his first years at Hogwarts, still seemed to be slicked backwards, not counting a loose strand here and there._ It probably started growing that way_, Hermione mused. The scowl on his face, however, seemed as permanent and unchangeable as Harry's scar, at least in the presence of gryffindors.

Her attentions to the Slytherin Prince did not go unnoticed by the two girls beside her, who winked at one another and turned towards the head girl.

"So, Hermione," Parvati began, "what do _you_ think of Malfoy?"

"She's actually thinking of getting to know him a bit better. You know, school unity and all. Also, she won't admit it, but I think she's had a crush on him for a while, haven't you 'Mione?" Harry's reply made Hermione blush profusely, sitting still and staring at her food for a full minute before looking up with a glare at her best friend. Harry, staring determined back, repeated his question, "You have, haven't you Hermione?"

"Oh, well, maybe, I guess… I mean, he's not bad…" Hermione finally replied, understanding where Harry was going with this.

The girls started giggling again, and Hermione knew she would be battling a horrible headache after lunch was over. "You know, Hermione, we could, uh…help you with…well, you know." More giggling followed.

"You could help me with what exactly?" Staring daggers at the two female gryffindors, Hermione could feel herself getting more and more annoyed. _Even Malfoy would be better than listening to these two_, she thought.

"We could help you with your looks, of course! Like teach you how to use make up, spells to make your skirt shorter and your shirt more form fitting. And your hair of course, we can make it look ten times better than that crow's nest."

This elicited different feelings in the three listening. While Harry seemed pleased, Ron's face turned redder than his hair, and Hermione sported a scowl not unlike the one she had seen on Malfoy's face. However, all three of them knew that it had to be done. It was the only way to make him notice her.


	3. How to avoid the snitch

Chapter 3: How to avoid the snitch

Trapped in the clutches of her enemy, Hermione could do nothing but sit and hope that Harry and Ron would come rescue her soon. Nothing could have prepared her for the assault that morning. She was dragged into the girl's bathroom, pinned down on a chair, with bright light shining in her face so she could barely see her captors. She was terrified, and she had every reason to be. Hearing the birds chirping outside, the no longer bushy haired Gryffindor hoped for an early release from her prison. But as Lavender and Parvati had had a hard time taming her hair, they had only begun with the makeup two hours into the torture session.

"You know Hermione, if you had done this a few years ago you probably wouldn't still be a virgin." Lavender said, giggling afterwards at her own remark.

"Yes well, I've been busy with more important things, _gaining_ knowledge and wisdom instead of _losing_ something." Hermione replied, trying to mask how hurt she was by Lavenders comment.

"Well, you don't have much knowledge about boys…" Parvati mumbled, thinking Hermione couldn't hear her.

Two weeks had passed since the giggle squad had talked to Hermione in the Great Hall. Although they had wanted to start the 'transformation' as they called it immediately after their conversation, Hermione had made sure to look busy every time the two girls were in the same room as her. It had worked for a while, as she had mostly stayed with Harry and Ron in an abandoned classroom on the third floor working on their potion for Malfoy. Hermione had calculated exactly how much they would need to last until Easter, yet Harry insisted on doubling it, 'just in case'. So the trio had had to sneak into Filch's office to steal, or 'borrow' as Hermione preferred to say, a few large cauldrons as they needed their own for potions classes.

Since the Gryffindors would be playing against the Slytherins in today's quidditch match, Hermione had to finally give in to Lavender and Parvati's makeover. She would have done it herself and not involved them, but as she had already tried to fix her hair three times that week and failed she figured her housemates couldn't be so bad. A headache relieving potion was nestled safely in her pocket just in case.

Meanwhile, Harry and Ron were down in the kitchens trying to convince Dobby to slip some of the potion into Malfoy's goblet before lunch, and then continue with it every morning until they no longer needed it.

"I think we're done." Lavender said smiling, looking pleased with their work.

The bright lights went off Hermione's face and she could finally see herself in the mirror. She was in awe. She had told them to be conservative, and they had actually listened for once. They had not raised her skirt much or made her look tacky, but had simply enhanced her natural beauty with ten thousand hair charms and a bit of makeup. The next twenty minutes before lunch they spent teaching Hermione how to apply makeup herself, and then rushed down to eat before the big match.

Throughout lunch Harry was attempting to console Ron who was downright fuming. He had been sulking the past few days, but Hermione suspected he did not quite believe Harry would seriously give up the match to please Malfoy until now. She had seated herself further down the table from them than usual to avoid Ron's half chewed food spluttering all over. He may be a messy eater normally, but while angry he couldn't keep more than half the food in his mouth long enough to swallow. Nervous about the nights plans for Malfoy, she was also glad to have some time alone to consider her enemy.

Hermione glanced over to the Slytherin table to make sure Malfoy was drinking his potion. He was talking animatedly with his quidditch teammates. As she watched him she noticed that he looked quite handsome when excited. The quidditch outfit didn't exactly make him look bad either. In typical Malfoy style, he seemed to be bragging and looking smug even before the game had been played. She dared thinking for a moment that he looked quite cute, and a slight blush tinted her cheeks. With a bit more hope of being able to be close to him without vomiting, the Gryffindor made her way down to the quidditch pitch.

* * *

While she found the game quite boring in general, knowing the results beforehand made it almost unbearable to sit out in the cold weather. Feeling nervous about their plan, she decided to go over it in her head. When the Slytherin team were walking towards the dungeons after the game she was to pretend she had fallen down the stairs and hurt her ankle, coaxing Malfoy into helping her to the hospital wing. With the continuing close-minded attitudes of the rest of the Slytherin team she would be assured valuable alone time with Malfoy, as the others would not follow.

The sudden cheers from the Slytherins along with the disbelieving silence from the three other houses interrupted Hermione's train of thought. Gazing up into the sky she could vaguely make out Malfoy flying around with the snitch held high in his right hand. The Gryffindors did not stay silent for long. It was Seamus who began shouting out to Madam Hooch, demanding that someone check the snitch. Soon after the whole of Gryffindor house were yelling at her, claiming that someone had tampered with it. Hermione could see Harry attempt to silence his teammates with excuses. She decided to try the same on her housemates sitting next to her, claiming Harry had been quite tired lately and that she thought he might be coming down with something. Eventually the rioting died down as most students simply wished to return to the warmth of their dormitories.

Getting caught in the crowd rushing down the stairs, Hermione was pushed and pulled this way and that as the outraged Gryffindors made their way towards the castle. After that followed the ecstatic Slytherins, who were even more relentless in getting past. Almost down all the steps, Hermione thought she was lucky she hadn't tripped, when a particularly brutish Slytherin strode past, shoving her to the side. Losing her balance, she fell down the remainder of the steps, hurting her ankle long before she planned to.

"Are you ok, 'Mione? I saw you fall. Those Slytherins can be really nasty sometimes. You'd think they'd show the head girl some respect." Hermione looked up to see Neville Longbottom offering her a hand. Seeing blonde hair coming closer to her behind Neville, Hermione politely declined, telling him she was fine and that he should get inside the castle before he froze to death.

As Neville walked off towards the castle, Malfoy had come close enough to see what was wrong.

"I can see why you didn't want Longbottom helping you. With him you're more likely to hurt more than just your ankle," he said, sneering at Neville's back.

Hermione blushed as she realized their plan was working. "Yes, well I figured seeing as you finally got everything you ever wanted today by catching the snitch you would want to give something back to the community by helping me up."

"Everything I ever wanted? You obviously don't know me very well, Granger."

"Through no fault of my own, Malfoy," Hermione spat out, realizing too late that her tone was not the friendliest. Luckily Malfoy ignored her comment, instead offering her his hand, which she took. As he hauled her off the ground she became unbalanced and fell into him, her hands landing on his chest, his arms at her waist. She blushed, quickly taking a step backwards to get away from him. "Thanks," she mumbled through her scarf, and started hobbling towards the castle. Malfoy quickly caught up with her. Without a word he grabbed her arm and put it over his shoulder, motioning for her to support her weight on him. As his arm snaked around to her waist Hermione focused all her attention on the path ahead, trying not to acknowledge the boy she was leaning on.

As they walked up towards the hospital wing together, Hermione silently berated herself for being so curt with him. She simply didn't know what to say to him, and although she tried to be friendly, it all came out wrong. When Malfoy tried guiding Hermione up a particularly long flight of stairs, exasperated at her slow progress he audibly sighed. "I don't have time for this Granger, there's a party down in the dungeons I should be at."

Hermione visibly sulked for a second, thinking the potion was definitely not working as well as she had hoped, when suddenly she felt herself being lifted up by strong arms and carried up the stairs. She tried staying in his arms while not holding on to him, but she didn't feel too safe with him yet and decided to awkwardly put her arms around his neck, just in case he went back to his old self and tried flinging her off the nearest staircase. With her ear pressed up against his chest she could hear his heart thumping and smirked slightly. _So he does have a heart_, she mused.

Finally they arrived in Madam Pomfrey's wing, and were met with a horribly chaotic scene. It seemed like half of Hogwarts had been hurt somehow. Most of the cases looked like the result of a wizard's duel, a theory backed up by the insults flying back and forth between various Gryffindors and Slytherins.

"You there!" Madam Pomfrey said, pointing at Hermione. "What's wrong?" she asked, obviously in no mood for small talk. As the healer went over to a nearby Slytherin to tend to his wounds, Malfoy replied for Hermione. "Sprained ankle, some bruising on hands and legs," he said in a bored tone, seeming more interested in smirking at the closest Gryffindor.

"Take this potion, go over to that bed and administer it along with this salve to her bruises." Madam Pomfrey, more stressed than Hermione had ever seen her, immediately rushed away after instructing Malfoy.

"But I'm not…" he started to reply, then realized no one was listening.

"Sorry Malfoy, you can just go if you want. I can handle it." Hermione said uncomfortably, hoping he'd stay but trying not to force him.

"No, that's alright. I'm in Slytherin, remember? There's probably another party even more wicked than this one tomorrow." Malfoy smirked, yet in a less annoying way than usual, Hermione noted. "Besides, most of my house seems to have taken up residence here anyways."

Putting her down on the bed indicated by Madam Pomfrey, Malfoy gave Hermione the potion which she drank while he started with the salve. Looking unsure of whether or not he should rub the salve on the girl himself, Hermione decided she needed to help him along and lifted a bruised hand up to him, waiting for him to start rubbing.

The Slytherin expertly smeared the salve over all her wounds while occasionally yelling an insult to an injured Gryffindor. The mind-opening potion was a complete success; it had only altered his thoughts towards Hermione, no one else. He even seemed to try to impress her with his even wider than usual array of insults. Normally he would reserve his more creative comments for her.

After he was done he put the salve down on the nightstand, bid her farewell and awkwardly left.

The next morning at breakfast Harry and Ron were questioning their friend on the previous night's events.

"So what happened last night, 'Mione? Was he nice to you?" Harry asked.

"He didn't kiss you or touch you or anything though, did he?" Ron said before Hermione could answer Harry.

Hermione sighed pointedly at Ron, before turning back to Harry. "It was…alright. He carried me up, put me on a bed and put salve on my wounds. He was actually quite the gentleman, until he saw the other Gryffindors at least. He kept insulting them in the weirdest fashion, saying that 'the only person with anything between her ears in your house is Hermione here.'"

"He called you Hermione?" Harry grinned.

Hermione took a sip of her pumpkin juice, noting the odd look shared by her friends as she swallowed. She didn't bother asking what that was all about. Likely just some silly joke between them that they didn't want to tell her and which she probably didn't want to hear.

"Yes…yes he did actually. I didn't even think about that." Hermione turned slightly red and started shifting her food around on her plate, envisioning Malfoy saying her name in a loving tone and then kissing her gently on the lips. Somehow she had started thinking less and less about the plan and more and more about the cute blond himself. _Well I guess that's a good thing. It means he won't notice my bad acting skills, _she thought to herself.

Ron interrupted her thoughts by suddenly going on and on about how bad the Slytherins were treating them, and how he wanted to tell them that he and Harry had set it all up. Harry looked like he had heard this rant several times already, and he and Hermione focused on eating their breakfasts until finally Ron's tone finally changed.

"I have to say you did an amazing job avoiding that snitch though, Harry. I can't believe no one realized you could have caught it ten times before Malfoy even saw it." Ron said, cheering up a bit when talking about the game itself.

"It was strangely hard though," Harry said, seemingly thinking hard. "The snitch kept following me, stood still right in my face, like it was taunting me, trying to make me touch it. The Gryffindors were probably right; I think the snitch was tampered with, but not by a Slytherin. Someone desperately wanted me to win."

"That's strange, who would want that? Besides all of Gryffindor of course, but I can't see any of them risking being expelled just to win a match." Hermione replied to her friend, all three of them now looking out at nothing, thinking about the odd events of yesterday and the snitch that wanted to be caught.


	4. Hexes aplenty

Chapter 4: Hexes aplenty

Three weeks had passed since the day the slytherins won the quidditch match against gryffindor. It was a month before Christmas, and it was already freezing cold outside. Snow was expected any day now, and Hermione had gotten no closer to Malfoy since he helped her to the hospital wing. The female gryffindor had kept excusing herself by referring to the fact that Malfoy had been very busy the past few weeks, ending up in one of Madam Pomfrey's hospital beds every other day.

No one really knew how it happened or who had done it, but the Slytherin Prince was constantly being found in abandoned sections of the castle by couples trying to find some privacy. He was usually found unconscious or tied up, with the weirdest hexes and spells on him. Once he was found with hands that had turned into croaking toads, another time with hair in all colors of the rainbow, writing the words "I am a twat" over and over again on any surface he could find.

Harry had of course suggested to Hermione that she should go and visit the poor boy in the hospital wing whenever she had the chance, as he was usually alone there. However, she was getting more and more nervous about the whole plan, blushing every time Malfoy simply looked at her, not to mention the thoughts and emotions he elicited in her whenever he smiled in her direction.

Finally, the gryffindor geek got her chance at talking to Malfoy when she along with Ron, Harry and anyone else who took seventh year potions found him outside the classroom, with no hexes or curses besides a full body bind. He was also wearing a very cute red knitted sweater.

As most others in that class were gryffindors as well, not many were even considering helping the boy who constantly threatened and insulted them. Hermione suggested to her two friends that they do it, looking over her shoulder to find that they too had made a swift exit, leaving the two heads alone together.

Hermione swiftly muttered the counter spell, and Malfoy was free of the bind.

"Thanks, Hermione." Malfoy smirked when he saw the girl blush.

"No problem." The hallway was filled with a heavy silence, before Hermione once again broke it.

"I don't know who's doing this to you. Just in case you thought it might be one of us, or another gryffindor."

"Yeah, I know. No gryffindor in this school would be devious and cunning enough to pull this off."

"So you've never seen the attacker?"

"Oh I've seen them plenty. It's just always a different one; Weasley, Blaise, Goyle, Boot, Potter, even you once. All I know is there's two of them and they definitely know how to brew a polyjuice potion."

"And it's someone who obviously really hates you."

"Yes, that narrowed it down considerably, Hermione. Thanks." Malfoy replied sarcastically, as it was a well known fact that most non-slytherins hated him, even the girls he slept with.

"Well, I mean, you're not that bad, once one gets to know you, I guess. You're pretty civil with me nowadays at least." Hermione had managed to stutter out.

"You're not so bad yourself. Especially alone, and without that big tangle of hair." Malfoy winked jokingly to Hermione, making her blush even more than she already was.

"Err, thanks, Malfoy. I should get going, though, I've got Charms in five minutes. See you around." As she made to leave Malfoy suddenly grabbed her arm, twisting her around to face him again.

"What did you wa…" Hermione began, but before she could finish, Malfoy shushed her with his fingers on her lips. "I want to kiss you," he whispered to her before withdrawing his hand and replacing it with his mouth.

--

'I definitely didn't throw up,' Hermione thought to herself as she touched her lips while thinking about what had happened the day before. She had kept her fingers on her lips almost all day, refusing to talk about it to Harry and Ron, although they already seemed to know. Instead she would daydream for hours, thinking about what else could soon happen between them, and hoping it would be very soon.

If it weren't for the fact that she was Hermione Granger, gryffindor bookworm extraordinaire, her professors would most certainly have noticed the change in her focus. However, as this was Hermione, she was somehow able to daydream in class and not pay attention, while still being able to answer every question. It was almost like a reflex to her by now due to all her years of memorizing each and every schoolbook.

Only her two best friends seemed to notice her interest in the death eater, besides Lavender and Parvati, but they were too busy with their own boyfriends to care. This gave her the freedom to think about Malfoy without being interrupted by disbelieving gryffindors or threatening slytherins.

Keeping her eye on the door to the Great Hall, the head girl could see when her male counterpart walked in. He caught her eye and winked before seating himself at the slytherin table. Seeing as she kept staring at him, he must have gotten tired of it and went to ask her to stop, for not long after had he gotten up again and was on his way over to Hermione.

Getting redder and redder by the second, she tried to look away as he approached, striking up a conversation with Neville.

"Right now I'm working on an African flesh eating plant down in Hagrid's garden. It's really fascinating how the…" was how far Neville got before he was interrupted.

"Hermione."

"Mal- Draco." Hermione said hesitantly.

"You know that Yule ball that's going to be in a month?"

At the mention of the ball Hermione could barely keep a straight face. 'He's going to ask me out, isn't he? Oh Merlin, I'm going to the ball with Draco Malfoy,' she thought, while trying to look like she couldn't care less.

"Yes?"

"Well, a lot of students have already found dates for it and whatnot, and…"

"Yes?" Hermione's heart was racing, as she started contemplating how she should answer. 'Perhaps I'll hesitate for a moment and then respond, making it look like I actually had to think about it.' She was quickly become as sly as the boy she was talking to.

"We still haven't planned for it. Decorations, food, drinks, music. It all needs to be done by next weekend." This statement cut through Hermione's daydream like a sword, destroying all hope of going to the ball with him, and making her strangely glad he didn't ask anyways.

"What?! But you were supposed to do it, we agreed on that during the heads meeting a month ago! I do the graduation, and you do the Yule ball. Even with your tiny ferret brain, it can't be that bloody hard to remember." Hermione exclaimed. She was on her feet now, looking threateningly at Malfoy, right arm in her pocket, grasping her wand.

Harry, who, along with Ron, had been listening in on the conversation tried to calm her down.

"'Mione, relax. It'll be fine, just sit down again and take a sip of pumpkin juice and you'll feel much better. Just don't do anything rash."

As Hermione listened to Harry and was just about to drink, a light went off in her head, realizing what her best friend was doing.

"Harry!"

Although he seemed to sense that she knew, he replied as innocently as possible.

"Yes, Hermione?"

"You didn't."

"Didn't what, Hermione?"

Realizing that Malfoy was still standing there with a perplexed expression, she glared over at the dark haired boy sitting next to her, warning him not to move a muscle until she got back. Then she grabbed Malfoy by the wrist and dragged him out of the Great Hall.

Outside the castle Hermione finally let go of her captive.

"Now, Malfoy, would you please explain to me how you managed to not do a single thing this entire month?" She was fuming, and as a result, Malfoy looked downright scared, before he seemed to straighten himself up and got that cold emotionless expression that everyone despised.

"Well, _Granger_, it _might_ have something to do with me being hexed every bloody day by Merlin knows who! Now either you help me with the planning or you will miss out on a date with _the _Draco Malfoy." He replied before donning an arrogant smirk.

"And why would you think I want to go on a date with _you_? Just because half of Hogwarts has shagged you doesn't mean the other half is as dim-witted." She retorted, feeling her anger and hatred towards Malfoy flooding back to her after weeks of tolerance.

"This is why," he said before taking hold of her wrists and pushing her up against the castle doors. Before she could say anything, Hermione's mouth was blocked by his in a kiss even more passionate than the one they had shared in the dungeons the day before.

--

Walking straight towards Ron and Harry at the gryffindor table, Hermione tried to avoid looking at all the students who were staring at her and trying to find out why she had rushed out with the Slytherin prince, and more importantly, why she came back alone looking so flushed.

"So Harry, when exactly were you going to tell me that you've been slipping me the same potion we're using on Malfoy?" Hermione asked her friend, obviously irritated beyond measure.

"When you had fallen completely head over heels in love with him and we didn't need to slip you the potion anymore. And considering how red your face is right now I'd say that time has come." As Hermione processed her friend's words in her mind she realised that he was right. For some inexplicable reason, she was falling for the ferret-boy.

"Oh, Harry. What am I going to do? I feel like I'm not even thinking about our plan anymore or Voldemort. I think about Malfoy all the time and I barely even know him! We never talk and yet for some reason he's had the urge to kiss me twice now."

"And that's the way it should be. It's a sign that he likes you just as much as you like him. I know it's difficult to be in love with a death eater, but we won't be able to get close to him without you having genuine feelings for each other. We just needed to give you a little push. I hope you don't hate us for not telling you. It was the only way, Hermione."


	5. Brewing for thieves

Chapter 5: Brewing for thieves

The next day in Potions the class arrived to see Professor Slughorn busily brewing a big cauldron of what most had no clue what was, but which Hermione immediately recognized to be polyjuice potion.

"What on earth does he need a polyjuice potion for?" Hermione asked, more to herself than anyone else.

"Don't most potions professors like to keep a sample of each potion their students need to know about?" Ron replied.

"Yes, but then he would have made it at the start of term, not in bloody December, Ron. Someone's been stealing from him, and considering how many different attackers Draco has seen, I bet this isn't the first time Slughorn has been remaking his polyjuice potion." Hermione said, her cheeks turning slightly pink as she realized that she had said Draco instead of Malfoy. However, no one else seemed to notice as Ron simply went on about their potions professor.

"Well, then he must have a screw loose. Why brew a potion over and over if you know someone is just going to steal it?" Ron replied, looking over at Slughorn with a bemused expression on his face, seeing the professor work so hard and diligently on a potion he would never use.

"Or maybe he doesn't know that it's being stolen." Harry said, catching Hermione's eye as she understood what he meant. Draco had been wrong about his attackers. They were not able to make a polyjuice potion, but were obvious experts with memory charms.

"Harry, I know Slughorn is thick, but how can he not know that his potions keep disappearing?" Ron replied, interrupting both Harry and Hermione's thoughts as to who it might be.

"Ron, _you_ are thick. Does the word 'obliviate' ring a bell?" Hermione said while her wand was waving dangerously in Ron's face.

"Alright, alright. Just keep that bloody thing away from me. I'd rather not forget what Malfoy looks like as a ferret."

--

As they were gathering their schoolbooks to head to their next class, thinking back to her second year at Hogwarts, Hermione realized that Slughorn couldn't possibly be brewing his potion in time for the attackers to get so much of it, as it required a month to prepare. So she decided to go and simply ask him.

"Professor?" she said timidly.

"Yes? Granger, was it? What can I do for you?" he replied while stirring 5 times clockwise.

"I was just wondering, that is a polyjuice potion you're brewing, isn't it?"

"Why yes, good guess. Ten points to Gryffindor!" Hermione smiled politely before continuing.

"And how long have you been working on it, sir?"

"For the past two days or so. May I ask why you want to know?"

"Well, it's just that I spent…" she started before changing her sentence. "I've _read_ that it takes at least a month to prepare, and it just seemed like you're almost done."

"Ah, yes, well that, Miss Granger, is a bit of a secret, you see." He said, winking at her. "But one that needs to be shared with such a bright young witch such as yourself. I can see there's no fooling you. Making an advanced potion such as this so easy can only be done once in a blue moon." He continued, winking once again, but revealing no further information, probably assuming she would never be able to find the answer, as it was most likely stored in the restricted section of the library.

--

"Finally!" Hermione exclaimed to her friends who were sitting beside her at the Gryffindor table. "I found it," she said while smiling sincerely, glad to finally be back to doing some good old book research. She then read out loud the passage she had been looking for. "Although the horn of a Bicorn needs to be picked during a full moon, if this is done during a blue moon, that is, the second full moon appearing in the same month, the potion will require only three days to complete."

"And he's using all his remaining blue moon horn to brew a potion for someone else. Now _that_ is funny." Ron laughed out loud, seemingly overjoyed at hearing about his least favorite professor.

"No, it's not, Ronald, it's dangerous. We don't have a clue who is stealing it, and although no one has been hurt yet, they might not keep up the jokes with those minor hexes for long." Hermione replied, trying to make her friend realize the severity of the situation.

"Well, we do have one clue," Harry interjected, "the attackers have never brewed a polyjuice potion before, meaning they've never been in seventh year potions class."

Before the trio could contemplate this new information any further, Draco Malfoy had made his way over to the gryffindor table for the second time in two days.

"Are you ready to go work on the Yule ball now? I haven't got any more lessons today, nor have I gotten any hexes yet, so I'd like to get going to the library before I push my luck." He seemed agitated, looking over his shoulder three times while speaking.

'He can't have gotten much sleep lately,' Hermione thought as she noticed the dark circles under his eyes. 'And he most certainly has not been working on Voldemort's task, as he doesn't even dare walk to the library alone when it's light out.' Continuing her train of thought, Hermione realized that if this madness didn't end soon it might mean the end of him, as Voldemort would simply recruit another slytherin to finish what Draco had started, while making sure he punished his death eater for not completing his task. Hermione made a mental note to herself to be on guard and make sure she didn't stray from his side, just in case his attackers were waiting in the shadows. She really didn't want him to be unable to do Voldemort's bidding, both for Draco's sake and for the sake of the rest of the wizarding community.

"Yeah, I'm co- coming, just a se-second," Hermione stuttered before quickly putting the book she had 'borrowed' from the restricted section into her bag before Draco could see it.

--

"Have you got some ink? Mine is almost empty," Draco asked once they had seated themselves in the Head's study room in the back of the library.

"I…I've got so-some here," again stuttering and becoming more and more embarrassed. 'Oh Merlin, after that second kiss I can't even talk to him without acting like an idiot.' Not knowing how she would get through the next hours having to converse with a man she could barely talk to, Hermione felt like she would rather be out in the Forbidden Forest with Fang at her side than sit around making a fool of herself.

Luckily, Draco took the lead and seemed to have many good ideas for the ball already, leaving Hermione with the job of nodding approval at anything he said. As they were finishing up and putting their notes into their bags, Draco turned to the head girl standing next to him and grabbed hold of her hand.

"So, I was thinking that since were the heads and all it would be appropriate if we went to the ball together. Just if you haven't already got a date, that's all. Cause if you do I can easily get one too, don't worry about that. I mean, after all, I am the most handsome guy in Hogwarts, at least that's what all the girls say." Draco told her, obviously trying to seem as casual about it as possible, and still put in a comment about his own good looks.

Hermione, trying desperately to answer him without sounding like a complete moron, took a while before responding. While she deliberated how to best say yes to him, Draco must have become impatient, as he broke the silence himself.

"How about you just owl me when you have an answer, and I'll make sure to stay single for a few more days, just for you," he said before winking once at her, kissing her on the cheek and hurriedly walking out of the room while making sure he wasn't being followed.

Thinking about what he had said, Hermione realized that owling him was strangely ingenious of him, as she obviously couldn't talk to him while stuttering. Deciding that all she needed was to get to know him beyond the occasional kiss to be free of her speech impediment, Hermione started thinking of what to say to him in her letter, which would be far longer than just a reply to his invitation. After all, there was little point in just sending a 'yes' when he already probably assumed she would accept.

'Conceited bastard' she thought, smiling while touching her cheek where he had kissed her.


	6. Letters to the Enemy

Chapter 6: Letters to the Enemy

_Draco,_

_I have thought about what you said and I've decided to say yes; I do want to be your date at this year's Yule Ball. It starts at seven, so we can meet up in the Entrance Hall at ten to seven, if that's alright?_

_While on the subject I was wondering if you have been to see the Headmistress yet to get our plans for the ball approved. Remember that the deadline is the day after tomorrow, so any alterations would have to be made tomorrow. _

_Hermione Granger_

Struggling to figure out what she should write, the gryffindor bookworm decided it best to make the first letter short and to the point, then find out what she should write next based on his response.

She went straight to the Owlery after finishing the letter and found a big barn owl perched close to the entrance. Giving her letter to the animal, she whispered her instructions to it, making sure none of the other students present could hear that the Gryffindor Princess had an urgent letter for the Slytherin Prince.

As she reached her dormitory again, Hermione found a small dark owl sitting on her windowsill, patiently waiting for her to retrieve the letter from its master.

She went over and got the letter, expecting the owl to take off, but instead it stayed quite still. 'Probably waiting for a reply. Saves me the trouble of going all the way back to the Owlery,' she smiled at the owl.

She swiftly opened the letter and started reading.

_Hermione,_

_First of all, _my_ plans have been approved by McGonagall. _

_I'll meet you outside the Gryffindor common room at quarter to seven. Don't be late. _

_I'd like to know what colour dress you're planning on wearing, so that my dress robes will not clash with it. Please send a letter with my owl as soon as possible. _

_DM_

_P.S. What are you wearing?_

Fuming at the rudeness of her correspondent, Hermione had to throw a few pillows at the wall opposite her bed before being able reply. One almost hit Draco's owl, scaring it so that it tried escaping her room, but Hermione was able to coax it back with some owl treats she kept beside her bed. 'Of course it had to be on his terms, he just can't let me make a decision. Bloody ferret,' she mumbled before responding.

_Draco,_

_I don't have any appropriate dresses for the ball, and have been unable to take a trip to Hogsmeade, and so don't have a clue what colour my robes will be as of yet. There is a trip next weekend though which I will make sure to attend. I hope you can be as patient as your owl and wait until then._

_HG_

_P.S. That's none of your bloody business._

Hermione watched as Draco's owl flew out of her room as soon as she had given it her letter, racing to get back to its master.

Five minutes later the owl was back with a new letter for the brown haired girl.

_Hermione,_

_As you have not yet purchased a dress I have decided that it is best if I come with you when you do, to make sure you don't buy anything...ugly. I do feel it's my duty to remind you that although you may be a very sweet and bright witch, your skills in the more superficial subjects are somewhat dismal. _

_DM_

_P.S. Perhaps if I tell you what I am wearing you will do the same afterwards? Right now I've got on black trousers and a white shirt which is still unbuttoned, as I just got out of the shower when I received your first letter. If you have trouble imagining it in your head I don't mind sending a picture with the next letter, but then I'd expect you to return the favour. _

_P.P.S. Next time you get angry with me, please try to control it, and don't attack my owl. _

Blushing at his response, Hermione kept thinking about his almost bare chest at the same time as wondering how on earth he found out about the pillows.

'And what does he mean by saying I need a chaperone just to go shopping?' She felt slightly hurt at his comment, but managed to admit to herself that he was probably right; her fashion sense was lacking. She had perhaps worn a great dress in their fourth year Yule Ball, but that was because Ginny had helped her pick it out, while she herself was actually going more for a black dress fit for a funeral. She didn't want Draco to see her dress before the ball, so she decided to ask Ginny if she would come with her instead. After all, she obviously had good taste, and Hermione hadn't talked to her in ages.

_Draco,_

_I've decided to ask Ginny Weasley to accompany me instead of you, as I don't want you to see me in my dress before the actual ball. _

_HG_

Trying to figure out what to say to his describing his clothes to her, she looked down at herself and realized she was wearing a pretty skimpy outfit as well, which she had changed into while waiting for his last letter. Deciding it was best to lie than to tell him that the geeky head girl walked around in tiny shorts and revealing tank tops, she started writing again.

_P.S. I'm still wearing school robes and I hope for your sake you have buttoned your shirt by now as Hogwarts can be rather drafty. _

The owl once again flitted off and was back in record time with a response from the dungeons.

_Hermione, _

_I guess I can trust Weaselette with the job of making you look even better than you already do._

_DM_

_P.S. No one wears those uncomfortable old robes after dinner. No one. Why are you being so adamant on not telling me? It's not like you're naked or anything (right?). Loosen up a bit and tell me what you're really wearing. If you do I'll answer one question you ask me, no matter what it is, deal?_

'Alright, game on, Draco.' Hermione thought before writing yet another letter.

_Draco, _

_I'm wearing a sky blue tank top and white cotton shorts. _

_Now for my question: Why do you like me? And don't say you don't cause you would never have kissed me (thrice!) if you didn't. _

_HG_

Hermione sat on her bed for fifteen minutes, nervously fidgeting with her hair, when at last the owl appeared once again at her window. She took the letter from the bird and slowly opened it, terrified of what it would say.

_Hermione,_

_I have to say I never imagined you would really wear anything lighter than school robes, so thanks for proving me wrong. I will go to bed now dreaming of you in a blue tank top and white shorts. _

_As for your question, I feel I need to explain that I have never and will never care about blood. It's all a ghastly red color which just doesn't go well with my complexion, and thus I try to steer away from it. _

_It is however loads of fun to tease you. Although I have been known to go too far, it has not been because I don't like you, but because I don't particularly care for Potty and Weasel. _

_When I was younger I envied you for always being best at everything, but now that I've matured I simply admire you. You are not only clever, but also funny, sexy and adorable. I've wanted to shag you all year, but in the last month or so I've also wondered what it would be like to hold your hand, hug you or simply wake up next to you. I don't know why but I feel something when I'm around you that I've never felt before. I get nervous when I kiss you, and I _never_ get nervous. I want to feel more of that._

_As you can imagine, I rarely tell anyone stuff like this, so to keep my reputation up I've charmed this letter to burst into flames after you've read it. _

_Have a good night, and sexy dreams._

_DM_


	7. Butterbeers and Betrayals

Chapter 7: Butterbeers and Betrayals

Fidgeting with her butterbeer bottle, Hermione tried to be as honest with Ginny as she could about recent events, but felt that it was impossible to get around subjects with her friend's nosy attitude.

The two girls had arrived in Hogsmeade a few hours earlier and had immediately gone over to Gladrags to find dresses. While Ginny was browsing for her own dress, Hermione was busy making a collection of the most atrocious pieces of clothing in history. Ginny had quickly made her discard her pile of 'dresses unbefitting a blast-ended skrewt' and found a gorgeous silky green dress for her friend.

After they had paid and asked the shopkeeper to deliver the dresses to them at Hogwarts, the two friends had gone over to The Three Broomsticks for butterbeers and a chat.

"Don't try and hide things from me 'Mione. I can't stand it anymore. You guys need to stop treating me like a baby and start trusting me."

"Alright, but remember, no one can know, not even the Order knows that we've been doing more than just spying on Draco. And we'd like to keep it that way, as they would never have allowed us to try out our plan."

As Hermione explained everything to her ginger-haired friend, she realized how good it felt to finally be able to talk to a girl about her feelings for Draco, and not just try and explain it to Harry and Ron all the time. She told her everything, about spying on Draco, the potion, the weird snitch and falling for him.

She went into detail when it came to telling her about the letters sent between the two heads, which had only just begun the night when Draco had told her why he liked her. They had kept writing to each other every evening after dinner, finding that it was a lot easier to confide in someone who wasn't there staring at you. She had found out a lot about him, even that he didn't really want to be a death eater (although he hadn't said it right out, as he was clever enough to be a bit vague). He seemed to really hate it, and Hermione understood that he was too terrified of disobeying Voldemort to do anything about it.

Ginny turned out to be a great listener, and even gave some advice on how to deal with the stuttering. She was not, on the other hand, a great talker. When it came to asking her what she had been up to, she only replied in one word answers.

"So who are you going to the ball with then?" Hermione asked politely, trying to find a subject where Ginny would stop staring at her butterbeer and really answer her.

"Neville."

"Him again, huh. Don't suppose there's anything going on between you two?" Hermione asked and got a look of disgust in response. The two girls ended up giggling, both thinking about Neville trying to be romantic.

"You're still waiting for Harry." Hermione said, more of a statement than a question.

"Yes. I know it's silly, but I just can't imagine myself with anyone else. And I understand why he wants to keep away from me, but it's just frustrating me. He keeps staring at me when he thinks I'm not looking, yet when I ask him to just hang out he comes up with some lame excuse." Ginny looked on the verge of tears now, so Hermione went over to the other side of the table and hugged her.

"Oh gods, Ginny, I didn't even think about how you were dealing with all of this. I've been a terrible friend since last year. We were just so hellbent on destroying the horcruxes this summer, and after getting them all besides Nagini and Harry, of course, we didn't even rest for a minute before starting to spy on Malfoy. I guess I just got lost in our world of war that I didn't look back at reality to see that you were hurting. I hope you can forgive me."

"Of course, 'Mione, I love you guys, I could never stay mad at you." Ginny replied with tears in her eyes but a bright smile on her face.

--

As the two gryffindors exited The Three Broomsticks, Ginny stopped to look at something across the street. "Uh, Hermione, it was Draco Malfoy you said, right?" Hermione replied a quick yes before waiting for Ginny to explain. "Then what is he doing with that…tramp?" Ginny pointed across the street to where Draco was visibly fawning over a very lightly clad, red haired girl. They watched as she openly flirted with Draco, kissed him on the cheek and then had to order him not to follow her to carry her bags.

Waiting until the tramp as Ginny had so fittingly called her had gone, Hermione marched over to Draco and slapped him straight across the face, leaving a nasty bruise.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Hermione managed to get out, tears streaming down her cheeks and falling down to the snow-covered ground. Although they were far from a couple, she felt that he had betrayed her by trying to get some other girl to shag him.

"That's none of your business, Granger," he replied with venom in his voice. "Now get out of my way before I lose sight of Georgia. Isn't she just unbelievable?" he sighed.

"She's unbelievable all right," Ginny muttered so that only Hermione could hear.

Draco left them to follow Georgia, sneaking behind her so as not to be noticed.

"That can't be real, can it? Tell me it's not real, Ginny." Hermione said between bouts of crying.

"Don't worry, Hermione, the only way he could have changed his mind so drastically is by using magic. Someone's been sneaking into Slughorn's cabinet again, this time looking for something spicier than polyjuice."


	8. Breaking up with Draco Malfoy

Chapter 8: Breaking up with Draco Malfoy

It had been four days since Hermione and Ginny had found Draco with Georgia in Hogsmeade, and still none of the four Order members had been able to get some alone time with the red-headed stranger in order to find out who she was.

Harry wasn't too pleased that Ginny now knew everything about their plans, but as bleak as their situation looked, he welcomed another bright mind to figure out what they would do to stop Georgia. The fact that Hermione and Draco's impending relationship had been put on hold was not the worst of their worries at this point, as all this messing about with Draco might get back to Voldemort. And if that happened, Draco would no longer be his top Hogwarts spy, or anything at all for that matter. So the gryffindors had spent all of their spare time searching for the elusive red-head, with little luck.

Meanwhile, the head girl had kept to herself at meals, keeping conversations to a minimum. Although not as distraught as when she first found Draco with the tramp, she was still not completely convinced everything was going to be ok, like Ginny kept telling her.

That Wednesday, while exiting the History of Magic classroom after another boring lecture, the trio was again met with a smitten Draco staring after his new girlfriend who just then disappeared down the hallway. Harry and Ron raced after her, trying once again to catch her before she was gone, but were out of luck, as she was nowhere in sight.

"That does it Harry, I can't keep running after her like this. She's too fast and you know it. Let's just give up and open the doors for You-Know-Who. I need rest."

"We can't rest now. Hermione is so close to getting the truth out of Malfoy, there's just this stupid bint standing in the way of it. We'll have to start skipping meals to try and search for her, as this is obviously not working. "

Worried that her friend was overworked, Hermione told Ron to take Harry with him for some quidditch practice, knowing that it was the only time he could really let go of all his troubles.

As her two best friends went in the direction of the Entrance Hall, Hermione headed further down the corridor where the mysterious girl had gone.

Walking past a multitude of students, none of whom was the one she was looking for, she decided to simply head back to the Gryffindor common room, when someone whispered her name from a nearby broom closet.

"Psst! Hermione!" she heard as she continued towards the closet, her wand in hand in case they were unfriendly.

As she tried looking through the small opening in the door, a pair of freckled hands suddenly shot out, grabbed her by her wrists and dragged her inside. She heard the door shut behind her, as she stood in the dark with Merlin knows who.

"Lumos" she whispered and she could finally see clearly the two boys, or rather, boy and girl, in front of her.

"Fred! And…Dare I say it, George?" she asked the two twins who were grinning at her.

"Hullo, Hermione!" Draco Malfoy's girlfriend caught her in a bone crushing hug.

"Have you lost it completely?!" Hermione exclaimed, upset at finding out that they had been unknowingly thwarted by their own friends.

"Lost it? My virginity, you mean? Oh, no, not yet. Although if it does come to that I'm prepared to do what is necessary. Our lives for the Order!" George replied before giving a high five to his decidedly more masculine twin.

"How long have you been here? And what about your shop? Have you closed it?"

"No, we let Percy take over for an undetermined amount of time. Technically we just told him we were going out for lunch, but seeing as he's unemployed we didn't think he'd mind watching the shop for us. Besides, he's been a real favorite of the customers; we've been selling tons of items just because the kids felt so inspired by him. They even gave him a pet name: Bullseye. Cute isn't it?"

As Hermione though back to all the weird things that had been happening to Draco the past few months, she suddenly knew it all would be explained in that broom closet.

"You were the ones doing everything, weren't you? Love potion, the attacks on Draco, memory charm on Slughorn, and the snitch as well?"

"Yes, well we started off innocently enough, listening in on his meetings with Snape using extendable ears. Our first plan was that if he lost yet another game to Harry he would perhaps get all whiney like he always does and give in to our demands for information. However, when Harry managed to lose that game…"

"Talented bloke, that Harry." Fred interjected.

"Yes, well, when he lost the game, we figured hexes were definitely more our kind of thing, which I believe you saw the result of."

"That red sweater was a greeting to you guys actually. You'd think Ron would get it after growing up with a woman who does nothing but knit oversized sweaters."

"In any case, when that didn't seem to break him we thought perhaps getting on his good side was more efficient than getting on his bad side, so we went back to Slughorn's again for some gender changing potion and the most potent love potion in stock."

"The Sting of Amore, extra strong." Fred finished.

"So you basically tried out in practice what Harry, Ron and I discarded as bad ideas after a minute's consideration?"

"When you put it that way, Hermione, we do sound like complete twats, don't we, Fred?"

"Yes, well we realized that earlier today, which is why we're here now asking you for help. I don't think Malfoy has managed to stay Voldie's favorite pet after all we've done to him, which might be a problem." Fred said, neither of them seeming to grasp the severity of the situation.

"Might be a problem? _Might_ be a problem? Are you two raving mad? Of course it's a bloody problem! What do you think we've been doing all this time? Sitting on our arses twiddling thumbs?" Hermione couldn't believe that Fred and George had been doing all this without thinking twice about asking them if they had anything planned.

"While you were attacking him with your curses I was getting closer to him by more natural means than your love potion. It was actually going quite well until I saw you kiss Draco in Hogsmeade." Hermione continued. "So yes, I do have a solution to all your problems, and that is to butt out and let us handle it. I want you to break up with Draco."

The two twins suddenly gasped a bit overdramatically at Hermione.

"Break up?"

"With_ the_ Draco Malfoy?"

"It's unheard of!"

"We'll do it!" The twins finally exclaimed in unison.

--

At dinner Hermione was anxiously awaiting the break up. The twins had insisted on planning it in secret, only telling her to look to the Slytherin table at dinnertime. So Hermione had kept her gaze fixed on it, even while telling Harry and Ron about everything that had happened after they had left for quidditch practice.

Averting her eyes slightly to see George in female form walk in through the door, Hermione could see him purposefully stride over to the Draco, who was seated at the end of the Slytherin table. He jumped up when he saw his 'girlfriend' approach him, and started walking towards the shemale (Hermione could find no better word for it).

"Drakie! Drakie, how could you?!"

At this, Draco seemed utterly confused, and simply tried to sooth the distraught Georgia.

"I saw you with her Drakie, I saw you kissing her. How could you pass me up for Millicent Bulstrode!" Ron snorted out pumpkin juice through his nose as giggles and gasps erupted all over the Great Hall.

With an even more perplexed expression donning his face, Draco tried to reassure his girlfriend that he had been completely faithful, while Georgia kept weeping dramatically.

"All right, Draco," the disguised Weasley finally said, "I give up. I can't even imagine a life without you. I forgive you. Now please, kiss me before I lose it again."

Draco complied like any fool in love, and started making out with George in the middle of the Great Hall, when, unbeknownst to him, as he had his eyes closed, George was slowly transforming back into his male self.

"Mmm, Malfoy, you do know how to treat a girl…guy…well you seem to swing both ways nowadays, don't you?" George said to a shocked and disgusted Draco, who swiftly stormed out of the Great Hall while the rest of the students were all laughing hysterically at the scene that had just unfolded.


	9. Preparing for Disappointment

Chapter 9: Preparing for disappointment

Although she was attending the Yule Ball with Draco the next day, Hermione had not dared strike up a conversation with the blond boy since his break up with George, and he had not approached her.

She feared that with all the responsibility of now being the new laughing stock of Hogwarts, Draco would be preoccupied with his problems and forgotten his date with her. And as Hermione was not as experienced in matters pertaining to the opposite sex as he was, she felt it was his responsibility to talk to her first. Thus she reasoned that waiting in the library reading any book she could get her hands on was the best course of action, something Harry and Ron continually berated her for.

But how could they complain when she was doing all the work? How would they feel if they had to try to 'get it on,' as they put it, with their enemy? Hermione, feeling very confused, scared and alone in her mission, put all her concentration into studying, hoping that the answers to her problems would simply present themselves.

And so it was that when Harry and Ron wanted to find Hermione that Friday evening to plead with her, yet again, to at least send a letter to Draco, they immediately went to the library. In the farthest corner of it they found their friend huddled over a particularly worn-looking arithmancy book.

"Go away," Hermione said to the two boys without even looking up from her book.

"How on earth do you suppose she knew it was us?" Ron whispered to Harry, but Hermione heard and replied to him instead.

"Have you ever considered the fact that I might not have known it was you, but that that is what I tell everyone who disturbs me? That I simply want to be left alone?"

"Yes, well, you can't get rid of us that easily. We came to talk about Malfoy…again," Harry started and continued hastily after a loud sigh from Hermione at the mention of Draco. "You can't avoid him forever. You've got to ask if the Yule ball thing is still on. Please, Hermione, the twins messed it up enough as it is, we can't risk any more failures."

Harry did have a point, and Hermione knew it. The twins had messed it up, but thankfully most of the student population seemed to think an extensive prank like that was something they might actually do just to make Draco look bad. And as long as no one considered that he might be jeopardized as a spy, the Golden trio was content.

"Alright Harry, I'll send him a letter as soon as I get back to the dorms," Hermione replied, and seeing the skeptical look on her friend's face added "I promise."

Finally getting past the topic that had loomed overhead for the past few days, the trio started chatting about less important things, like Ron mastering a new quidditch move, or the upcoming potions test.

As Hermione lectured her best friends on why they should have started studying for the test a week ago, a familiar drawl interrupted her speech.

"Trying to teach your dogs a new trick, Granger?"

"Sadly I think they've become too old for it, Malfoy. Did you want something?" she replied, trying to seem as cold as she would have been to him months ago.

"We have some heads business to discuss. Shall we?" Draco said as he beckoned towards the private library room for the Heads.

"So what did you want?" the Head girl asked once the door was closed behind them.

"I wanted to talk to you, but first I want to do this." Draco replied before taking hold of her wrists and pushing her up against the wall. "I hope you're not as dimwitted as some gryffindors and think that I actually was in love with George." He kissed her, pushing his tongue into her mouth before she could object. Hermione returned the favour and met his tongue with her own. She then broke the kiss to continue the conversation.

"I'm still not sure if you're capable of loving anyone." Hermione replied sincerely, looking deep into Draco's eyes which revealed nothing. Instead, he pulled her head towards his again and gave her a soft kiss, 'almost,' she thought after he had left the room, 'as an answer to my question.'

--

It was the day of the Yule Ball and although Draco and Hermione had forgotten to actually discuss their date the day before, she was sure that him kissing her was an indication that he still wanted to go with her. Or, at least, she had been sure up until twenty minutes before she was to meet with him outside the entrance to Gryffindor tower. In these last moments before having to exit, she dreaded that her date might not show up after all. What if he blamed her for what the twins had done? She was friends with them, after all, and he might think that she had known about their scheming all along.

Maybe he was just messing with her head, making her fall for him and then leaving her there amongst all the happy couples, looking like a sad puppy. Hermione tried desperately to banish these thoughts from her head as she worked on taming her hair. It could be done, as Lavender and Parvati had proved, but it took an amazing amount of time and effort. And today Hermione felt it was pointless to even try, as she might not even have a reason to get all dressed up. Using her hair as a substitute for a certain slytherin, Hermione forcefully dragged her brush through all her knots while cursing at her reflection in the mirror.

"Hermione Granger, that is no way to treat your hair," Parvati scolded Hermione, reminding her of Mrs. Weasley. As they were almost done themselves, her dormmates insisted on helping her with her hair, managing to fix it within fifteen minutes. 'Now Ron will have to come up with better insults than calling them good for nothing flirts' Hermione thought as she thanked the girls for their help.

The next step was more challenging, as no one could help her with it. She had to walk out of Gryffindor tower and commence her first date with Draco, if he had bothered to show up.

"Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods…" Hermione repeated to herself as she walked down to the common room and stared at the portrait hole. This was it. The moment of truth. If Draco was out there waiting for her then she would make him fall in love with her. She knew it. On the other hand, if he wasn't, she was doomed. She was, of course, referring to the plan and it being doomed and not to herself personally. It was ridiculous to think she was this nervous about the boy himself, which she would never admit to herself.

"Relax, Hermione, you look great! Ron will be so pleased," Lavender said as she and Parvati made their way down the steps she had just descended.

"I'm not going with Ron," Hermione replied before rushing out of Gryffindor tower to avoid the inevitable questions that would follow from the giggle squad. 'Even going to the ball alone is better than being interrogated by those two,' she thought as she opened the door and peaked outside to see…

No one.


	10. The Amazing Disappearing Buffet Trick

The Amazing Disappearing Buffet Trick

There were loads of gryffindors, some ravenclaws and a few hufflepuffs even, but not a single slytherin. She looked at each person three times to make sure he wasn't there, with a new hair color or some such. "Oh, Hermione," she said to herself, tears forming in her eyes, "what were you thinking? Of course he wouldn't still want to go with you."

Looking completely and utterly miserable, Hermione slowly made her way towards the Great Hall. The walk was excruciating; she felt like all of Hogwarts was staring at her. The tears in her eyes were threatening to fall down her cheeks and smear her makeup when suddenly a hand shot out from a classroom she passed and dragged her inside.

"Draco! You startled me." She said as she tried to hide her face so he wouldn't see that she had been crying. Although the Slytherin Prince may like her, she knew that he still had a reputation to uphold, and going out with whiny girls who cried all the time would ruin it. Even dating a muggleborn was acceptable, if it was just to get into her knickers. Following this train of thought, Hermione started to wonder what he was going to tell his friends after the Ball, as they would inevitably see him with her, the most hated of all muggleborns.

"I didn't mean to. I also didn't mean to sneak around like this, but those bloody gryffindors took one look at me and started drawing wands. I figured I'd best keep out of their way for tonight, seeing as I'm dating the gryffindor princess and all. That's enough reason to hex me already." Draco said before he finally looked at Hermione properly. She had wiped away any tears forming but her eyes were still red.

"Were you crying? What did they do? Did someone hurt you?" He asked her with a worried expression on his face. His hands had found their way to her shoulders as his eyes sought out hers.

'I thought you had,' Hermione thought as she looked into Draco's silvery eyes.

"No, no, nothing like that. It was just silly, never mind. Shall we?" She responded while trying to seem as cheerful as ever so he'd drop the subject.

Unluckily for her though realization seemed to dawn on Draco as his eyes widened and a smirk settled on his face. "You thought I had stood you up. You can't deny it, can you? Well, I understand your reaction perfectly. Who wouldn't be as distraught as you were if they thought that I, Draco Malfoy, had better things to do than grace them with my presence?"

"You git! If you think I've spent even a moment crying about you then you are a narcissistic fool."

"Whatever you say, Hermione, whatever you say. I'll believe you the day you stop staring at my body while I try to have a simple conversation with you." Draco retorted while leading a beet red Hermione out of the classroom and down towards the Great Hall.

But Hermione wouldn't let up simply because they were now out in public.

"Me? Need I remind you, Draco, that you're the one who ends up kissing me every time I try to say something."

"Alright, alright, can you calm down and shut up for once?" Draco whispered urgently to her, looking around him to see if anyone had heard his date. He had obviously not told any of his slytherin mates about what had been going on between them, and he seemed very worried about them finding out.

Considering his status as Voldemort's spy, Hermione remembered that no one could find out about them, as the Dark Lord would kill Draco for it, if he was in a merciful mood. 'I need to be more careful,' Hermione thought as she walked down the stairs wondering how Draco had reasoned that going to a Ball with his enemy would not be noticed. She tried to read his face and ended up staring at him instead, quietly resisting the urge to run her hands through his hair and kiss him. He looked even more aristocratic (and handsome!) than usual in his black and silver robes and his slicked back hair, making Hermione wonder if he spent even more time in front of the mirror than Lavender and Parvati combined.

"We're the Heads, it's only natural that McGonagall would force us to go together." Draco said, interrupting Hermione's train of thought. "Huh?" she replied, staring confused up at her date.

"That's our excuse, Hermione, now quit staring at me and start pretending this is the worst night of your life." Draco said before opening the doors to the Great Hall with a scowl on his face, trying to look as uncomfortable as possible.

The Great Hall looked magnificent, and Hermione let out a gasp as she walked through the doors. Snow falling slowly down from above, never hitting the ground; icicles hanging from each chandelier, table and chair; everything decorated in a light blue, creating the feeling of being out in the snow without being cold. "It's beautiful," Hermione said, more to herself than anyone else.

"Of course it is, Granger, I planned it." Draco replied with an annoying smirk plastered on his face.

As they walked further into the Hall Hermione spotted Ron and Harry over by the buffet. She went completely against her newfound desire to stay as close to Draco as possible and tried to think back to what she used to do when she hated his guts. Naturally that meant quickly excusing herself from Draco and making her way over to her friends. "Hey, guys."

"Hey, 'Mione, how's your date going?" Harry asked on behalf of him and Ron, as the latter was busily munching on a bit of everything he could find.

"It's dreadful. I can't believe Professor McGonagall made me go with Malfoy." Hermione told Harry, who caught on quickly.

"But I thought you wanted to go with- ouch! What was that for?" Ron asked his best friend, nursing his stomach where Harry had hit him.

Before anyone could reply Draco had caught up with her and, putting his hand on her back, tried to lead her over to the dance floor. "As much as I love seeing the Golden trio together again, we are the Heads and are responsible for this Ball, so don't you think it would look bad if we didn't dance together the first dance of the evening? I'm sure Potty can keep Weasel from eating the entire buffet before we get back." Draco said to Hermione while glaring at her friends.

"Don't worry about us Malfoy, you and Hermione go and have a horrible time together." Harry replied with a glint in his eye, reminding Hermione of Dumbledore.

--

The music started and Hermione awkwardly put her one hand in Draco's while the other wound around his neck.

"I do believe Potty knows we're on a real - and not forced - date, Miss Granger, would you care to explain how?" he asked while glaring at his date in much the same manner he had been glaring at her friends.

Blushing under his intense scrutiny, Hermione didn't really know what to say.

"I, uhm…he just found out. He's pretty clever, you know. And he knows me too well. He won't tell anyone though, I promise. He's not like that, he knows what's at stake."

Although he didn't seem too pleased, Draco quickly let go of the subject matter and focused on glaring at passing gryffindors instead. It was an awkward few minutes while the song lasted, both him and her trying to get as close to each other as possible, yet trying to make it seem like they wanted to do the exact opposite. She didn't dare look at him, and, through the corner of her eye, could make out that he wasn't looking at her either. Hermione had never felt so wanted and abhorred at the same time, nor so safe and so exposed. She suddenly felt like she needed to get away, desperately, from this fake Draco, this public Draco. It wasn't who she wanted to be with.

The song finally ended and Hermione tried moving away from Draco, but he kept her firmly in his arms, with a pleading look on his face. "Just one more."

"Ok," she whispered hesitantly.

He clutched her tighter than he had before as they danced, refusing to let her go until the song ended. This time, Hermione decided she wouldn't go through another dance like the previous one, and tried instead to talk to her partner to take her mind off how close he was, and how incredibly good he smelled.

"Draco?" she said timidly after checking that no other dance couple was in earshot.

"Hmm?"

"I want to be your girlfriend." At this, Draco's shocked expression could be described as matching perfectly that of Hermione's, as both were desperately trying to figure out why she just said what she did. Hoping to explain her last statement through referring to her bouts of insanity (knowing that Harry and Ron could testify to it, as she had done and said some really strange things in the years they had known her), Hermione tentatively started a sentence which she had no idea how to finish.

"I mean that…I..uh…"

"I think we should talk, privately. Meet me outside in five minutes." Draco said before disappearing off past the sea of dancing students, past the now empty buffet table, past the severely bloated Ron and out of the Great Hall.


End file.
